For the Press: Responding After a Disaster

Listed below are resources for journalists and media organizations covering disasters, including press contact information for the VA National Center for PTSD.

Basic Information on PTSD

• PTSD Overview

Press Room for the National Center for PTSD

• Press Room Home
• Contact Information for the Press
• Journalists and PTSD

Other Resources

• The Epidemiology of PTSD
  How common is PTSD in the U.S. and in other countries? What are the rates of PTSD in Veterans of different conflicts?
• Resources for Providers: Responding to Disasters
  Initial intervention following disaster involves reducing initial distress and offering practical assistance. The resources below will help first responders and mental health providers learn skills in psychological first aid and other useful information about disaster response.
• Resources for Survivors and the Public
  A resource page with links to fact sheets and other information to help people deal with the stresses that come with disaster.
• Psychological First Aid
  Jointly created by the VA National Center for PTSD and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, the Psychological First Aid Field Guide was developed to assist people in the immediate aftermath of disasters and terrorism, to reduce initial distress, and to foster short and long-term adaptive functioning. It includes handouts for survivors and is available in multiple languages.
• Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma*
  The Dart Center is a global network of news professionals, mental health experts, educators and researchers. The Center provides journalists around the world with the resources necessary to report on trauma, conflict and tragedy.